MARK English is aming to make up for 2013 when he takes part in the forthcoming World Athletics Championships in Beijing at the end of the month.
English (picture above courtesy of Kieran Carlin) traveled with an 11-strong Irish team – which also includes Finn Valley AC’s Tori Pena and Letterkenny AC’s Brendan Boyce – this morning for a 13-day holding camp in Hong Kong.
The Irish squad is managed by Finn Valley stalwart Patsy McGonagle. After finishing in Hong Kong they will move onto the athletes village in Beijing. This will replicate preparations for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year.
English, who has won European indoor silver and European outdoor bronze medals in the last year, retained his national 800m crown in Santry yesterday.
The Letterkenny man, running these days in the singlet of UCD AC, recorded a season’s best 1:45.49 last month at the London Anniversary Games to book his ticket to Rio.
English feels back on form – and ready to make up for Moscow in 2013 when he didn’t make it out of the qualifying rounds at the World Championships.
“I can’t forget what happened last time,” said English.
“I need to be aware of those lads. Moscow was tactics, not really preparation. I was in great shape.
“I’m going to go out there and give it a blast. I think I’m back to my old best, there’s a carbon copy of where I was last year, maybe a little better, the lack of expectation plays into my hands because you saw how I did in Zurich.
“You need that bit of luck to go your way.”
Boyce finished second in the national 10k walk at the weekend and, also having booked his place in Rio, goes in the 50k walk in Beijing.
Boyce finished 25th in 2013 in 3:54:24 and set a new personal best this year of 3:48:55 in Dudince.
Pena won her fifth national title on Saturday in Santry and the Californian, who is aligned to Finn Valley, will be aiming to build on 2013 when she didn’t get through the qualifying rounds.
English will also compete in the 4x400m relay alongside Brian Gregan, Thomas Barr and Craig Lynch.
High Performance Director Kevin Ankrom on Team Ireland: “I see these championships as the ultimate dress rehearsal for Rio. Overall I am looking for the team to deliver performance on the world stage which they can build on for the Olympic Games next year”
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